Review | Star Wars: The Force Awakens [Spoilers]

With Spoilers

Photo from Lucasfilm/Walt Disney Studios Philippines

Director and co-writer J.J. Abrams did live up to the film’s title, awakening a well-loved franchise tainted by a boring prequel trilogy. The film was about the resurgence of The Force, along with it the familliar excitement of all things Star Wars —the lightsabers, the droids, ships and hyperdrives. At its core was an engaging story, which eventually answered every warsie’s question, “Where is Luke Skywalker?”

In the film, the Force was portrayed in the most thrilling way. Imagine a blaster’s beam stopped in mid-air or the main character’s struggling to be frozen by it. Correct me if the Force has been interpreted this way before. Nevertheless, how the filmmakers played around in manifesting the Force on the big screen was visually creative. You can see that they put much effort and had fun in creating this movie.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a legacy movie - as a new generation responds to a new Big Bad—the First Order, with guidance by the original cast. Similarly, audiences from all ages were both entertained and in awe of how cohesive and respectful the sequel is. A senior lady in our row, during my second watching, got teary-eyed when Han Solo and Leia meet again following a conflict that destroyed their relationship.

Someone with a critical eye though may find fault in the parallelisms between the new movie and the original trilogy. As Han Solo put it, “So it’s bigger” —in reference to the solar-powered Star Killer vis-a-vis the Deathstar. Again, it may be nitpicky to say it does not introduce newer concept, especially when the filmmaker may be doing homages to the original trilogy.

What also made it enjoyable to watch is its humor. It did not take itself too seriously. But it would also hit you hard, with a surprising twist.